We're All Adults Here... Right?

Reader, a question for you: how old are you? Go on, that's an actual question I'm very interested to hear an answer for; leave your answer in the annotations for this paragraph.

I will happily stand corrected on this if my assumption turns out to be wrong, but I'm willing to bet -- judging from a combination of the content we've been putting out and the quality of comments we've been receiving on said content -- that the vast majority of you would describe yourselves as "adults." You're probably over the age of 18, and you've probably been playing games for quite some time now.

I certainly fall into that category; I'm 32, and I've been playing games since the days of the Atari 400. I didn't always understand what I was playing when I was very young, but I was ready, willing and able to explore games in all their forms from that early age -- a feeling that has stayed with me through school, university and beyond.

One thing I find both fascinating and frustrating is the gaming industry's unwillingness to treat its audience as grown-ups. Actually, let's be a little more accurate about that: the console sector's unwillingness to treat its audience as grown-ups.

Stealth Ba-- sorry, Stealth, Inc.

The reason I'm thinking about this today is after being reminded that the wonderfully-named Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole is being renamed for its imminent PSN release. The new name? The rather generic-sounding Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark, though bonus points for referencing Alone in the Dark.

Now, Stealth Bastard's original name was deliberately provocative, but it was part of that game's identity. It set expectations for what the game would be about -- a cheeky, humorous and distinctly British take on the stealth genre that wasn't expecting anyone to take it too seriously. Stealth Inc, meanwhile, while still a decent enough name -- and one voted for by Stealth Bastard's community of players, no less -- just doesn't have that same ring to it; it sounds much more generic, much less interesting.

Why the name change, though? Ostensibly to reach a wider audience, but it's difficult not to imagine that Sony tutted disapprovingly at the name when developer Curve Studios went to pitch it. Browse through the PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP or Vita and you won't find any games with profanities or vulgarities in their titles, regardless of the actual content therein. The game's title has been (possibly self-) censored to avoid offending anyone's delicate sensibilities, despite the fact that the game itself isn't, in itself, offensive.

This isn't an isolated incident, by any means, and it marks a big distinguishing factor between the PC market and the console/handheld market as a whole. On PC, you can get away with almost anything when it comes to content and titles; on console, you're much more restricted.

There's a simple explanation for this: consoles are closed ecosystems that are controlled by the hardware manufacturers; PC is an open ecosystem, because Steam isn't the only place people can get their games from. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have all decreed that certain types of content are not acceptable or welcome on their platforms; the PC, meanwhile, happily accepts all comers with open arms. Steam, which many PC gamers use as their primary source of acquiring new games, has its own standards of what it allows to be sold on its storefront, but even then it allowed Stealth Bastard to be released with its original title intact.

Aselia the Eternal for PC is a rare case: originally an erotic game, later completely rewritten for an all-ages console and PC audience rather than just plain censored. It's still a niche title, though.

The divide between PC and console games is even more pronounced in Japan; sexually-explicit visual novels and role-playing games are often best-sellers on PC and find themselves with console ports, only to have the explicit content stripped out to comply with platform holders' policies. These "all-ages" console and handheld versions rarely make it out of Japan; the adults-only PC originals sometimes do, however, though they end up marketed to a niche audience through specialist publishers and aren't available on any of the big-name digital distribution sites for PC.

It's a strange situation, though. Why should Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo be the arbiters of good taste when it comes to "mature content" -- particularly given that extremely violent titles seem to get a free pass? All three of these platform manufacturers have systems in place to allow parents to control what content does and doesn't get into the hands of minors, and presumably this situation will continue into the next generation. Shouldn't we be trusted to make our own minds up by now?

Apparently not; we live in a world where Nintendo feels it inappropriate that we Westerners see Tharja's bikini-clad bottom in Fire Emblem -- and yet, ironically, made the artwork more suggestive in the process. Whoops.

According to Nintendo, this is inappropriate. You may have your own opinions on whether or not it is, but shouldn't we have the option to make our own minds up?

Of course, part of the problem stems not from the industry itself, but from its consumers. Parents of younger children who are into video games are still not particularly well-educated about the content contained in popular titles, despite the best efforts of organizations such as the ESRB and sites like the now-defunct What They Play. The industry then gets blamed by scaremongering news outlets such as the US' own Fox News and the UK's Daily Mail for letting "inappropriate" content get into the hands of minors because there aren't any strictly-enforced rules in place. But the information is out there for parents to peruse; why aren't they using it? Because they're not using it, console manufacturers tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to what is and is not acceptable on their platforms, but end up sending seriously mixed messages in the process.

This is most frustrating thing about censorship and prudishness when it comes to video games: how utterly inconsistent it is. You've doubtless heard the same argument dozens of times by now, but it bears repeating: why can we hack, slash, shoot, bomb and burn our way through countless hordes of enemies -- often human enemies -- and splatter ourselves in virtual blood, yet anything remotely sexual is taboo? The industry as a whole has, at least, loosened up a bit with regard to swearing in recent years, so that's something, but this is still a world where, say, Morrigan from Dragon Age apparently actually puts some underwear on to have sex with the protagonist rather than risk showing a hint of boob.

Now I'm not saying we need sex in games. I'm not saying we need games with vulgarities in their titles. Nor am I saying we need swearing in our games' dialogue. But it would be nice to have the option to make our own minds up. It would be nice to be thought of as an adult. We've made progress in this regard in the last few years, but we still have a long way to go, particularly when compared to other forms of media.

Will the next generation of consoles be the first where we get to dictate what content we do and do not find acceptable according to our own personal tastes? Probably not; but until that day comes there's always the glorious freedom of the PC platform to enjoy, and I for one intend to take full advantage of that fact.

What I would love to see is a system where if there is mature content in a game, it can be censored through an options menu. There are a number of games I'd like to play but I personally prefer to not have some of the mature content but have no choice in whether it is there or not.

I wrote a bit about this in other articles, and I do feel that censorship (self-done or pressured) is a hurdle that the entire medium will need to overcome. Games still struggle with a variety of negative perceptions, and established publishers and developers have little reason to "rock the boat", especially since reduced profits tend to make shareholders or owners unhappy.

I think the shift will need to take place outside of the big three console manufactures and their respective marketplaces. As mentioned in the article, the PC enjoys freedoms as it is not an entirely formed singular ecosystem, but a collection of various ecosystems and distribution methods. Really, the issue is no longer a method of distribution, but a matter of content that effectively uses it. We need games that that handle mature themes well, not just games with adolescent approaches to adult themes.

This weird sex-taboo isn't only present in video games; it's something that effects TV and movies equally (at least in the US).

I think it comes from the fact that we can label something sexual as "perverted" and, of course, no one wants to be a pervert.

It seems that sexuality in games can only get a free pass if it's not sexy. The dark and "mature" turn that The Witcher takes with sexuality often gets lauded. And no one will complain about the goofy and sterilized Sims approach.

Then, there's something like Lollipop Chainsaw, a game with no real sexual material beyond the fact that the game's heroine is sexually attractive, and I've seen in bashed in all directions as a game built for the soul purpose of having perverts masturbate to it. I've seen the same with Catherine based solely off its boxart.

I'm not sure how we beat these knee-jerk reactions, but I hope we can find a way. It's sad if we only accept sexuality that's not sexy at all--that kind of defeats the purpose of it in the first place.

Got to agree with ChrisOwens1980, I wish there were a way to tone some of these things down.

I totally get why they'd change the name. Possibility of more sales, on a platform that probably, at the very least, skews younger than the typical PC gamer.

There are societal mores that are being broken down, and most of us here are old enough to remember the outcry against Mortal Kombat and its ilk. Things changed after that battle was effectively lost. I suspect it won't be much longer until the sexual side of things finds the same treatment.

I would argue that isn't a good thing, on the issue of blood or sex. But then, I'm one of those prudes, I suppose.

You had my interest on the first part of the article and lost it with the rest. As a 31 year old gamer I don't look to games for sexual stimulation, and find the random softcore scenes and swearing in movies and television to be obnoxious and am personally glad Hollywood seems to have moved away from this in the last few decades, though cable television seems to be picking up the slack.

I know that's not the main point of your article, but it's always bothered me when people conflate adult content with sexually explicit, violent or vulgar content. In fact, the older I get, the less I care about those things and I tend to think that's true for most of us. I think savvy marketers who make those things selling points for their products are aiming at a younger audience, and I'm not particularly interested in the console makers losing battle with censorship of games in their catalogue.

So, I was hoping after the first few paragraphs that you were going to delve into the topic of how genre-calcified most games are on the consoles (and by proxy the PC AAA space, where almost all such games are ports). Speaking generally for the group of 30+ adult gamers, a lot of us have been around since the Atari and Nintendo days and have seen the industry grow from Super Mario Brothers platformers to the rise of the FPS with Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, the RTS with Warcraft and the first big online multiplayer games like Quake and Battle.net titles like Warcraft II and Diablo, culminating in what I tend to think of as gaming's golden age of the late nineties where the boundaries of each genre were being tested with games like Grim Fandango, Planescape Torment, Deus Ex, Ultima Online and Counterstrike.

It just seems like since the first XBox and Halo, big budget publishers have been running around in ever more tired circles chasing the success of a few popular titles, and up until the last few years with the growth of the indie scene my interest in gaming was nearly gone. Hopefully as their individual successes begin to influence the younger crowd of gamers and the older gamers who are drip-fed a steady diet of Call of Duty clones and sports games, publishers will feel the pressure of diminishing sales to strike out into new territory, and give us old gamers something to look forward to. And for me, Titan Fall and Destiny aren't it, but we seem to be moving in the right direction.

The gaming industry finds it difficult to treat its audience as grown-ups because many game sales are made to or for children and many of the outspoken in the gaming world are those who think the edgy, meaning violence and sex, is to be equated with the mature. It's not. I find it funny that this article was inspired by a game's no longer including bastard in its title and then went on to talk about eroge...but there wasn't a request for the publication of actual mature content. The article was just a request to break down the barriers with examples of childish titillation.

Maybe we're treated like children because we're not asking for mature content. Maybe we're treated like children because all we can think to ask for are the same edgy things we asked for when we were kids.

I specifically picked the topic of sex as it's the one great taboo we haven't overcome. And I'm not talking about childish titillation, really; a GOOD eroge (emphasis on the good) incorporates sex into its narrative in a very natural manner, though of course for every one good one there are plenty that don't. See Katawa Shoujo for an example of how to do it right.

I feel that in general, games are getting a lot better with regard to the exploration of "less obvious" or "less edgy" mature content in terms of story themes, but there are still some significant hurdles to overcome, and until we overcome those hurdles and are willing to accept all kinds of "mature" content, we'll still be locked in this peculiar situation we're in now where standards of "maturity" are applied inconsistently.

I'm curious to hear from the rest of you, then; when YOU say "mature content", what do you mean? What do you want to see more of? As I noted in the article, I don't necessarily want to see more sex and vulgarities in games, but as Gospel X notes below, I do want to see these barriers broken down somewhat, because once they're broken, more "intelligent" (for want of a better word) stuff that skirts around those themes can break through too.

I loved Fire Emblem Awakening—I'd probably put it in my top five games for the year. I thought Tharja was a funny character, and I had a blast getting her to marry Libra in the game. Probably the least chemistry of any pairing, but I liked 'em together. She was dark and weird and goth-y, which made her a pretty easy fan favorite.

Anyway, so yeah, now we have a statue of her bending over and showing off her ass and her high heels. When I was playing the game, I figured she was ... maybe 15, 16? And this is how we're representing her. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember the game sexualizing her that much. But going by fan reaction, gamer seem to REALLY WANT this thing. And that's kinda sad to me. Can you imagine Warner Bros. putting out a Hermione Granger figure in the same pose?

"I'm curious to hear from the rest of you, then; when YOU say "mature content", what do you mean? What do you want to see more of?"

Honestly? I want a descriptive ratings system, and an equal playing field for all games regardless of subject matter. I'd like AO games to be sold on the shelves with everything else. And I'd like all parents to think of the children... by paying attention to, and taking responsibility for what their damn kids are into.

I hear you, but I don't agree with you. By putting someone on a console, you agree to the rules of the console. If you don't like it, like you mentioned, put it on steam or GOG and you wont have to worry about it. If I were Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo I'd do the same thing. The name of the game is money and if people start thinking that the only thing your system is good for is porn your going to lose a HUGE chunk of your audience. I do know what kind of numbers the porn industry puts up, but the fact is that a lot of parents purchase these systems for their children as well as adults purchasing them for themselves. I really think that a lot of adults will stop purchasing these systems if they allowed a lot of what your asking on here. I enjoy a naked body as much as the next, but we all know that there are people out there that would try and put a game like Rapelay on the PS4 or the Xbox 1 if they could. Could you imagine the shit storm that would erupt if that was something your could pick up at Gamestop?

I have never understood the problem with nudity in mature games (Your Dragon age example is an excellent one)... We consume movies and tv shows with nudity why be so prudish when it comes to mature games...

@pjedavison, when I think of the possibility of a mature game, I think of a game that explores subjects deeper than getting the girl or revenge. I think it shouldn't necessarily have unnecessary violence of sexuality, but those things are not to be condemned when appropriate.

The truth is, in my personal gaming history, I have't played very many mature games. One of the most mature, in my opinion, would be Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, which was an exploration of identity and loss. It wasn't perfect, but it definitely tried. The other really mature game would be Telltale Games' The Walking Dead, which doesn't require my saying much about it. You form such a bond with the two lead characters, making the last episode almost torture-like for the player.

But I can't agree that breaking down barriers for more gratuitous content would make it easier to make way for more mature content. What would honestly make it easier for actual mature content to find its way into games would be the creation of said content and the cultivation of that audience. Making more gratuitous games honestly strikes me as going in the opposite direction and possibly driving away the people who would appreciate actual maturity in games.